The latest data from the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission (CBIRC) points to a sizeable increase in lending to private enterprises in the first nine months of 2020, amidst efforts to contain the economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Figures released by CBIRC on 27 October indicate that as of the end of September loans to private enterprises had increased by 5.4 trillion yuan compared to the start of the year, for a figure 1.6 trillion yuan ahead of the same period in 2019.
As of the end of September the financial inclusion micro and small-loan balance was 14.8 trillion yuan, for a YoY rise of 30.5%, while the average interest rate for such loans in the first three quarters of 2020 fell by 0.82 percentage points compared to the full year figure for 2019.
As of the end of September tech research and technical service industry loans posted YoY growth of 22.3%, while manufacturing loans increased by 2 trillion yuan compared to the start of the year, 2.6 times the full year figure for 2019.
CBIRC deputy chair Liang Tao (梁涛) said that the next step was for the financial sector to better service structural economic adjustments and model upgrades, and greatly increase medium and long-term funding support to the manufacturing sector and emerging strategic sectors.
